Dirty Dishes!

A couple of months ago, I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone, and she was telling me how frustrated she was with her niece who had visited her for 3 months during school break. She said that her 20 year old niece would not help with any chores, expecting everything to be done for her, but she would even leave dirty dishes out. My friend asked her nicely to at least put water in the cups or dishes so the stuff would not get dry and crusty, and yet she didn't do it. When we don't wash a dish after a meal, and it sits in the sink overnight, the food on it will dry and it will take longer to clean. The crust left behind on dishes, made me think about things in our lives that need cleaning that we don't clean immediately.

Much like washing dishes, the best thing to do is to acknowledge the dirt immediately and not leave it for the next day, or the next month, or the next year. The more we postpone it, the harder it is to get rid of. Whatever the problem is that we are dealing with, we need to address it immediately and take care of it. It may not be easy to do. Sometimes we may not feel up to it. I do leave dirty dishes in the sink sometimes, because I am too tired, but it shouldn't happen all the time.The more we wait the harder it gets. The "dirt" and "grime" we are not dealing with in our lives will destroy and harm our relationship with people and with God.

So don't wait! Make it a priority and you will feel much better.

Have a great week!

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

 A few weeks ago Galen and I attended "Senior Safety Academy". It is a safety seminar offered by the senior centers and law enforcement.  Although many things that were covered are things we are aware of,  it is good to refresh your memory, and unfortunately there are also scams and frauds that were new t us. 

One of the things they stressed was "DO NOT TRUST ANYBODY". I know it sounds too extreme, but in today's world we must use exteme measures. One of the scams that is increasing are online cyber fraud. Cybersecurity should not be any different than protecting your home or car from intruders. We lock our front doors and car doors and we have cameras and alarms to discourage thiefs. When it comes to your personal identity, banking records, health records and other sentitive information such as passcodes and other data which is available on line, we must be as vigilant.   

 CISA is a federal agency (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency) under the Dept of Homeland Security, and they are responsible for online security and protection. Here are some of the things they recommend for online security.

1. Implement multifactor authentification on your accounts...that is when you logon with your passcode, they also send a security code to your phone, that you need to type in, in order to access your account.
2. Update your software...but make sure it is coming from the company that created it and beware of fake "urgent" downloads.
3. Think before you click...Avoid text and emails that look too good to be true, too urgent or have unusual request. Don't react. Delete anything that looks suspicious.
4. Create strong passwords....use long, unique complex words or phrases, with a mix of capital letters, characters etc.. 

I will look thru my notes and follow up with some additional tips, on the next post.

Have a great day!